SALINE CO.— A miner was crushed to death today (Saturday 11/17/2012) at the Willow Lake Mines in Equality, Illinois.
Twenty-five year old Chad Meyers (CORRECTED), of Goreville (CORRECTED), was operating a piece of heavy equipment and was later pinned between it and the coal wall, crushing him instantly.
He had been with the company for only a few years.
The mine will REPORTEDLY be closed for the next three days pending a federal investigation but who will be inspecting is uncertain at this time.
Peabody Energy’s Willow Lake Mine facility had a similar incident back in July 2010 wherein a worker was struck by a piece of heavy equipment underground and killed. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) considers Willow Lake a problem mine with repeated safety violations since late 2008. In August 2010, Peabody Energy was ordered to pay $174,000 in fines for safety violations. MSHA put the mine on notice for a “a repetitive pattern of serious violations” as recent as November 2011. (link).
Our sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Meyers.